(logo beeping) - [Lea] Hello everyone and
welcome to "Toon Ruins." My name is Lea and today
we're taking the time to talk about Autism Acceptance Month, which you may know as
Autism Awareness Month. Now, for those of you
who are subscribed to me and watch my videos regularly, you know that this isn't the type of video that I usually make. My usual content consists of theory and review videos about cartoons,
mainly "Steven Universe." But April's a special month
to me and many others. So I thought it was the perfect time to make another personal video like I did back when "Steven
Universe" had its 5th birthday. And for those of you who
don't know this about me, I'm on the spectrum. It's called being on the spectrum because there isn't just
one catchall checklist for autistic people. For instance, one autistic
person may have a problem with eye contact and communication. While another person
on the spectrum may not be bothered at all by those things. It's called a spectrum because you can't put all autistic people into the same group because
we aren't all the same. Just like everyone, we're individuals. We have our strengths and
weaknesses, likes and dislikes. Just because we're autistic doesn't mean that we're suddenly all the same or fit into one definitive definition. And that's why today we'll be talking about autistic creators and characters, fitting with the theme of my usual content while also making
informational video of sorts. And I hope that by the end of this video, that you'll have learned something or gained a better understanding
of those on the spectrum. The first creator we're talking about today is Satoshi Tajiri. For those of you who
don't know who Satoshi is, he's the creator of "Pokemon." Autistic people tend to
develop something called a special interest where
they become transfixed on either one or a few things. In Satoshi's case his special interest was insects and insect collecting. This special interest led to
the creation of "Pokemon," since Satoshi claims he wanted
something that brought joy to people the same way bug
collecting brought joy to him. He also developed a special
interest in video games while he was a teenager
and began collecting them. Because of his love and extensive
knowledge of video games, he wrote a fan magazine that
was centered around games, specifically arcade games. The name of this fan
magazine was "Game Freak." If this magazine name sounds familiar, it's because "Game Freak" would later grow into the video game
company that has a hand in making the Pokemon games. "Game Freak" went from a magazine company to a game company in 1989 and soon after the idea of "Pokemon"
was pitched to Nintendo. And that's how "Pokemon"
became the behemoth of a series that it is today. Had Satoshi never been transfixed on bug and video game collecting,
it's not too far of a stretch to say that
"Pokemon" would never exist. Special interests in
autistic people often lead to extensive knowledge on the subject that they're focused on. This is why Satoshi knew so much about video games and it's why he was able to successfully create "Game Freak." In other autistic individuals, having a special interest may cause them to excel far above their peers in whatever their special
interest is about. For example, someone
who is on the spectrum, maybe will tell you every little detail about how a complex motor system works if their special interest involves it. But on the other end, someone
on the spectrum may have a difficult time motivating themselves to do something outside
of their special interest. This may make them seem
lazy or unintelligent, when in most cases, this is
really far from the truth. For example, I frequently have a very difficult time making videos that aren't related to "Steven Universe." And if it wasn't already
obvious, "Steven Universe" is one of my special interests, and
it's actually my primary one. It makes it ridiculously
easy for me to pump out a 10 page video
script in under two hours. But on the flip side, it
also makes it difficult for me to write a script
of about the same size on something that I'm not
incredibly interested in. This may make me seem
lazy or unintelligent, but it isn't the case in the slightest. I just have a very difficult time focusing on things outside of my special interest. This is where a lot of common
misconceptions about people on the spectrum start, but
it really is just a case of people misunderstanding
how the autistic mind works. A lot of the time we aren't
unintelligent or lazy. We just find it more difficult
to put all of our effort into something that we
aren't interested in. More so than the allistic individual does. In simpler terms, we
are masters of our trade and soar above our peers in that subject, but we have a hard time focusing on and succeeding on things outside of that. My advice to other
individuals on the spectrum who have a hard time
focusing on things outside of their special interest
is to somehow involve it in whatever task needs to be accomplished. For example, I included "Steven Universe" in this script to make writing it easier. Another example would be if you want to improve your art skills but are having a hard time
finding the motivation, that you draw one of
your favorite characters or objects from your special interests. It will make the task that much easier. Another good thing to do
is to motivate yourself by telling yourself that
once you're finished with what you need to do,
that you'll reward yourself by watching an episode
from your favorite show or partaking in a related activity. It's important to reward yourself with your special interest, but also not allow it to
dictate your day-to-day life. You don't want it to become debilitating. My advice to allistic individuals
who have autistic people in their life is to encourage
the passion and enthusiasm that the individual has towards
their current fixations. Special interests are incredibly important to autistic individuals and act as a safety blanket for us. A lot of bonding can
happen through partaking in related activities with the individual. For example, my mom and I are very close because she watches
"Steven Universe" with me. Just listening to someone talk
about their special interests could be a bonding activity and the person will greatly appreciate
you listening to them. It's especially important
for parents of children on the spectrum to encourage this behavior and support their child's
interests, as it may one day turn into a profession if it's nurtured enough. It is important to note, however, that while you encourage them
to share what they enjoy, that you should also
shift the conversation to something that you enjoy as well. This increases social skills
and is beneficial on both ends. Another example of someone on the spectrum who turns their special interest into a profession is Dan Aykroyd, who is the writer and
creator of "Ghostbusters." Not only did he create the ghostly series but it was because of his love for ghosts and law enforcement,
that it came to be. One of his special interest
involved, Hans Holzer who inspired the idea of
"Ghostbusters" in the first place. Dan also claims that his special
interest in law enforcement is what helped the most
in "Blues Brothers," since because of that he knew a lot about borderline sociopathic hedonist. Other examples of successful
autistic individuals are Dr. Vernon Smith, who is a professor of economics at Chapman University, John Elder Robison, who was
a successful book author, Clay Marzo, who is a professional surfer, Courtney Love, who was a lead
singer for the band Hole, Sir Anthony Hopkins, who
was an actor most famous for his role as Hannibal Lecter, Temple Grandin, who is a
professor of animal science at Colorado State University, as well as animal behavior expert, and Tony DeBlois, who is a
world famous blind pianist. There are many other autistic people who are both successful and well-known, but this is just to name a few. Another person that I wanted
to put in the spotlight as well is Dan Harmon,
who was the co-creator of "Rick and Morty"
next to Justin Roiland. Dan realized that he
may be on the spectrum while he was writing
the character Abed Nadir from the show "Community." Since then, he's talked
about his experience within the autistic
community, as well as gone on to say that being on the
spectrum isn't a disability or inhibitor, as people
on the spectrum don't feel that they are negatively affected by it. In fact, in a lot of cases, people on the spectrum feel
that it has the opposite effect. Instead, they state that they
are only negatively affected by how people treat them
for being different, which, honestly, this sentiment
rings true to me as well. On the subject of "Rick and Morty" though, this is the perfect time to switch over from autistic individuals, to autistic and autistic coded characters. Like Dan Harmon, it's revealed in the episode "Rickchurian Mortydate" that Rick Sanchez himself
is actually autistic. He may not be the best example
of someone on the spectrum, but it is nice to see subtle confirmation on such an iconic character. - Is this game popular
with autistic people? - Why would you say something like that? - 'Cause I'm starting to love it. - [Lea] Other canonically
confirmed autistic characters are Julia from "Sesame Street," Parker from "Leverage Towns," Linderman from "Impulse," the blue Ranger, or Billy Cranston, from the 2017 "Power Rangers" movie, Abed Nadir from the "Community." Carl Gould from "Arthur," Brigid Tenenbaum from "BioShock," and Max Braverman from "Parenthood." While some of these portrayals
are better than others, these are some of the
canonically confirmed characters on the spectrum. Speaking on one of these characters I just mentioned as well, Carl Gould displays behaviors
of having a special interest, like I mentioned earlier in the video. Carl's first seen special
interest is trains, and he can easily point
out the intricate details of the locomotives, and
draw them accurately. He has also shown to
have problems changing the subject away from
trains, which is something I also mentioned earlier
about special interests. His interest also changed
from trains to rockets and spaceships by the
episode, "Buster Spaces Out." Trains and space are a
common fixation for people on the spectrum to develop, allowing Carl to be relatable to the
young children viewers. That being said, there
unfortunately isn't a whole lot of characters other than
the ones that I've mentioned that have been canonically
confirmed to be on the spectrum. There are a lot of characters
that fans speculate and headcanon to be autistic, but they lack creator confirmation
or an in-show statement. For example, a lot of people will agree that Sheldon Cooper from
"The Big Bang Theory" is unquestionably
somewhere on the spectrum. But when asked about it, the creators refuse to
say if he is or isn't. So whether fortunate or unfortunate, depending how you look at it, Sheldon is in the headcanon
list for autistic characters. There are a lot of characters that are headcanon to be on the spectrum. Some of which even being
extremely well-known characters. One of the most famous
headcanons in speculations is that SpongeBob SquarePants
himself is autistic. People have pointed out
that he's very hyper-fixated on his job at the Krusty Krab, is an excellent fry cook
and knows about the job, gets upset and nervous when
something doesn't follow a pattern, has a hard time
understanding social boundaries and cues, laughs for no apparent reason, obsesses over even the smallest
details, is best friends with his pet Gary, and has
a hard time having more than a handful of close friends. These are all very obvious
traits of an autistic person. And it's why a lot of people theorize that this happy-go-lucky
sponge is on the spectrum. It would also explain why
SpongeBob happens to be a pretty common special
interest among autistic people. Another character that
people headcanon to be on the spectrum is Dendy from "OK K.O.!" She has unusual speaking patterns, a very hard time making new
friends and approaching people, doesn't understand a lot of social cues, appears to be apathetic when she isn't, has a special interest in Pow Cards, and happy stims by jumping up and down when she's happy or excited. A lot of people relate to
Dendy and they find her to be a very positive
form of representation, as her quirks aren't seen
as something negative, but rather as something
that makes her special. A similar character that
is also headcannoned to be on the spectrum is Peridot
from "Steven Universe." She is by far the one
that most autistic people in the fandom relate to and
there are a lot of reasons why. The first is that she
takes everything literally, even after spending a lot of time on Earth and as a Crystal Gem. She doesn't quite understand jokes unless she's made them herself and will usually reply with a literal and unenthused response. She seemed to appear apathetic, when in reality, she just
doesn't understand the situation. When it's explained to her
in terms that she understands then she's able to fully
understand the situation and becomes more empathetic to it. An example would be how
Garnet explained Ruby and Sapphire's relationship
through Percy and Pierre. She has a special interest
in "Camp Pining Hearts," and it's why Garnett was able to get through to her using that analogy. Lapis watches "Camp
Pining Hearts" with her. And since it's her special interest, it's a very good bonding
activity for the two. This is why Peridot likely
feels the closest to Lapis, since she takes the time
to indulge in it with her. It's also been pointed out that she has a hard time maintaining relationships, accidentally hurts people's
feelings and doesn't realize it, and hisses at people when
she's overstimulated. There's also symbolism in
Peridot's limb enhancers, and being an Era 2 Gem. Peridot feels that she's wrong because she seen to have a disadvantage and disability compared to the other gems, and it's why she's been
given her limb enhancers. Because of that, she
uses them like a crutch and is extremely upset
when she loses them. She believes that without
their help that she's useless. But through Steven and the Crystal Gems, she realizes that she's just different. She doesn't have a disability. She just has a different
way of dealing with things and working around them. For example, she discovers
that she has ferrokinesis when her tablet is in danger. Her discovery of her metal
bending powers proves that she isn't defective, she
just varies from the norm. Peridot is seen as a positive
form of representation because she's an example of an autistic person who can thrive in a loving and supportive environment. When people take the time
to explain things to her in a way she understands she's happier and so are the people around her. She's really come out
of her shell on earth because people don't treat
her like she has a disability. In stark contrast, when
she was on Homeworld, she was terrified of messing up and she was incredibly unhappy trying to live up to their
standards and expectations. This is a situation that's all too real to people on the spectrum. And it's why showing how she's thriving in a supportive and
understanding environment, versus the one that
she wasn't thriving in, is so important to a lot of people. However Peridot isn't the
only one in "Steven Universe" who people headcanon to be autistic. While I personally identify and see a bit of myself in Peridot, the character I more heavily
relate to is actually Pearl. Peridot has more visible
traits of an autistic person, but Pearl has her fair share as well. And I saved this one for last since I identify more with her and can compare my personal
experiences with hers. It's also interesting that
there's two characters in this show who are
strongly autistic coded, because it shows just how different people on the spectrum can be from one another. Like Peridot, Pearl takes
things very literally. Jokes often fly right past
her, and she doesn't catch that it's a joke rather than a statement. While the other Crystal Gems
sometimes have this problem in not understanding human terms, it isn't ever as intense as
it is with Peridot and Pearl. Most of the Gems understand jokes, whereas these two generally don't. This is one of the reasons why Pearl has such a difficult time
dealing with Amethyst, because she doesn't really
understand her actions or her comedic nature. She often reacts with anger
or with reprimanding her. It isn't until recently
that she better understands and is able to get along with her. I relate to this a lot because
I oftentimes don't understand when people are joking with me. I can get defensive if
I'm not understanding that it's a joke, or I can get irritable. This most often happens
with my dad who has a similar jokester
personality to Amethyst. They aren't mean jokes, they're basically just dad jokes that I don't understand a lot of the time. He often asks me, "You
know, I'm joking, right?" Whenever he does them,
and I can only assume it's because I'm not reacting the way he wants or expects me to. Over time, I've gotten used
to, and started understanding that he's joking, but it took
me a long time to grasp it. Another interesting point about Pearl is that she can get irritable when she's overwhelmed or overstimulated. Being overstimulated for
an autistic person means that they are experiencing
sensory overload. Now it is important to
note that sensory overload isn't just exclusive to autistic people. However, it is seen in them the most often and causes more problems for them, as it takes less to set it off than someone who isn't autistic. Things that may cause sensory
overload are lighting, smells, sounds, certain out of place or repetitive motions, and textures. It may also be as simple as
an overwhelming situation where a lot of negative
things are happening one after another, or
where there's a change from a routine that they aren't expecting. If they fail to balance
out the sensory overload, they may experience a meltdown, or they may stim to try and
combat the overstimulation. Pearl often needs to plan
out everything that she does to a rather meticulous degree, and shows a general distaste
to going into something without a plan or an
expectation for the outcome. She also tends to get
overwhelmed rather easily and can react in a snappy or
aggressive manner as a result. She has an obsession with
keeping things in order and knows where to find
all of her belongings without even thinking about it. She also has shown to
have a hatred for food, which is something a lot of people on the spectrum struggle with. For me personally, anything
slimy, bumpy, or seedy is enough to kill my
appetite and make me gag. Something about the texture
just makes me very unnerved and disgusted to a degree
where I can't even look at seedy foods without
feeling my skin crawl. Amethyst canonically eats a lot, and Garnet canonically eats occasionally. The other Gems, like Lapis and Peridot, haven't been seen eating,
but they seem indifferent to food in general. Pearl is the only Gem who
will go to any lengths to avoid eating, including
forcing Alexandrite to unfuse in order to avoid it. Pearl also has actions that
can be seen as stimming. Stimming stands for
self-stimulatory behavior and is you usually use to
combat overstimulation. Stimming behaviors include
hand flapping, rocking, spinning general repetitive
actions or phrases, hair twirling, or feeling
certain textured surfaces. People on the spectrum may
stim because they are excited, happy, anxious, overwhelmed,
or because it feels comforting. Just like with overstimulation,
this isn't something that is exclusive to autistic people. If you've clicked your pen repetitively, or bounced your knee, those
are forms of stimming. You're likely aware of and
can control these actions, whereas autistic people
are usually unaware that they're doing it and they find it stressful
or impossible to stop them. These actions are done to self-regulate and self-calm from overwhelming
and strong emotions. Since people on the spectrum often suffer from sensory processing dysfunction which is what causes
overstimulation to occur so easily. Though, contrary to popular
belief, just because someone on the spectrum is stimming
does not automatically mean that they're anxious. Stimming is for any overwhelming emotion, positive or negative. It's just a way to get rid
of the excess excitement and energy that comes with these emotions, so that they aren't overstimulated. Some people even have specific
stims for specific emotions. For example, I flap my hands
whenever I'm happy or excited, I twirl the right side of my hair whenever I'm anxious about something. If I'm on the edge of a panic attack, I will either bounce my right leg, pace back and forth, or
repeat certain phrases to myself until I calm down. A lot of times, I won't even notice that I'm doing these things
until they're pointed out to me. Pearl has similar stims. Though most of her stims are in relation to negative emotions. Usually when she's angry or anxious, she can be seen grasping the fabric of her clothing and one way or another. She also sometimes will
involuntarily cover her mouth or put her hands to her face when talking about something
uncomfortable or stressful. While "Steven Universe" lore explains the mouth covering
portion, it could also be that her mannerisms were
planned out to match a theme. She also talks with her hands a lot which is another common action
among people on the spectrum. Pearl also shows discomfort
in physical affection when she's not the one initiating it. While a lot of people
who are autistic love and crave physical affection, there are those who are known
to react negatively to it. A lot of the time it's
circumstantial as well, as they may just be uncomfortable with the person or situation that they're receiving the affection from. Pearl seems to be circumstantial in that she only likes hugs
from those she's close to, or when she's initiating
or expecting them. Pearl being autistic coded
would also explain her inability to believe that Steven couldn't
miss his mom more than her, because he never met her. Inability to understand people,
even in similar positions, is something a lot of us struggle with. And it's something Pearl struggled a lot with in the past as well. And just like Peridot,
Pearl is seen as defective. She's even been called
defective multiple times in the show by multiple characters. Rose didn't see her
like she came out wrong and it's why Pearl grew such a dependence and unhealthy attachment to her. Not only was Rose the first to treat her like an individual, but she
was also the first to say that there was nothing wrong
with her, she's just different. Other traits that land
Pearl on the spectrum are her being the tech
genius of the group, as is a common trait for autistic people. She has a large collection of swords and knows an obscenely
large amount on Gem history. The interesting thing
about Pearl and Peridot is that they're both representative of different types of
people on the spectrum. Pearl is someone who's
been around for a long time and has been reprimanded and told that her differences are
bad for most of her life. Whereas Peridot is someone who has experienced those
things, but not as long, or to the same degree. Peridot obviously loves
herself and sees no problems in her differences,
whereas Pearl is damaged and has a large self hatred for
herself and her differences. Pearl sees her differences as a curse, whereas Peridot sees them as an advantage. Pearl and Peridot are two
sides of the same coin. Peridot is someone who
was caught early enough and given a loving and caring environment to reassure her that there
was nothing wrong with her. Whereas Pearl was scolded and
made to feel like a defect for the largest portion of her life. Peridot is more expressive, whereas Pearl is more reserved and often scolds herself for her reactions and feels useless and defective. It's also why she likely has
more aggressive reactions, because she doesn't know how to deal with her emotions properly. She's gotten better, but it's taken a lot of unlearning and help
from Steven to do so. While there are autistic people who are more easy to
identify like Peridot, there are people like Pearl who you wouldn't know
unless they told you. I actually fall into the
Pearl category in this case, since a lot of my traits aren't
very pronounced or visible. Usually if, and when, I
tell people I'm usually met with a lot of disbelief
and bewildered looks. If anything, I guess it
really only proves my point that people don't really know
a lot about this subject. And while Peridot and Pearl are aliens and likely can not be canonically autistic because that's a human term, I think that they're both
pretty obviously autistic coded. But enough about these two,
because I don't want more than half the script being about them. While these two are excellent examples of those who are on the spectrum, there's unfortunately more
examples of bad representation. Now, if you've made it to
this point in the video, you've likely noticed a trend. That trend being, most autistic
representation includes some sort of genius character who is just quote un quote misunderstood and somewhat socially awkward. And unfortunately the
most well-known characters who are thought or confirmed
to be on the spectrum all fall under this category. Let's use some famous characters and their shows as an example. "The Good Doctor," "The Big Bang Theory," and BBC's "Sherlock Holmes." Now while Sheldon Cooper and Sherlock haven't been canonically
confirmed to be autistic, these are the shows that
most people think of when they think of autistic
characters and representation. "The Good Doctor's," Sean Murphy is canonically on the spectrum and it's actually the basis of the show. There's many other shows like this where the main character is autistic and they're also some sort of genius that surpasses the intelligence
of everyone around them. While it is possible for
someone's high intelligence to be due to their autism, most of the time, this isn't the case. In fact, most autistic people are either of average or lower intelligence. The problem becomes that
the media romanticizes the idea of autism being
more of a super power, than actually giving an
accurate representation of what it is and can cause. They focus on the very small percentage of genius people on the spectrum, while also completely
skipping past the majority who are either of average
or lower intelligence. You would think that something like all well-known autistic
characters being geniuses is a good thing, but it really isn't. It's a harmful stereotype and it does more harm than it does good. While it is a positive
trope, the media sets the standard extremely
high for real life people. The ordinary person doesn't
know much about autism. And I'm assuming that
you yourself even learned a thing or two while watching this video. This means that people's
expectations are formed by the media that they've consumed. When the media that they're
consuming tells them one thing, and one thing only, then their
standards and expectations for what someone on the
spectrum should act like is set. Eventually these characters
become a model neurominority and set the standard on
how autistic people need to behave and be. Sociologists William Petersen
coined the term model minority to describe the positively
stereotyped demographic groups that achieve success
despite marginalization. There's actually a very good
and more detailed article about this that I will link below, but it's actually what I'm
basing a lot of my wording off of because of how well it explains the issue. Essentially, shows like
"The Good Doctor" create a false scale of importance. It alleviates some pressure from those on the spectrum
with high intelligence, while excluding others who do not fit the idealized description. It creates a mythical autistic superhero who deceives the public by misrepresenting how disabling some symptoms
of autism can actually be. This common trope also
highlights and puts on a pedestal the false belief that autistic people only have value if they have savant skills that can benefit non-autistic people and offset their
supposedly societal burden. "The Good Doctor" is again,
a perfect example of this as Shaun really only exists
to push this narrative and makes his coworkers feel
good about giving him a job. While positive depictions can be essential to reducing the stigma,
the majority who do not fit the media idealized
definition are left behind. Autistic people who don't
resemble the geniuses on TV, such as those who have visible
and debilitating social and physical issues,
encounter major barriers to self-advocacy and are virtually erased. Because of this people who
aren't autistic have no idea how to actually deal with or
treat autistic people. And it leads to the
infantilization of people who are on the spectrum. Additionally, these
depictions usually eliminate the ugly things such as
overstimulation and meltdowns. This makes these things
even more demonized and ultimately less understood. Meltdowns and overstimulation
are completely avoidable, but only when approached correctly. These shows need to focus more on the bad and commonly unknown parts of autism to educate people on how to interact with individuals on the spectrum, as well as give them basic
education on the subject. Things such as stimming
aren't even common knowledge. And I'm sure are seen as bad, due to individuals being uneducated. Unfortunately, most people
get their information from the media and
entertainment they consume. It's time for us to
change what the status quo for autistic representation is. So that life becomes easier for all of us. I understand that shows
like "The Good Doctor" are supposed to be feel good shows that autistic people in
a positive light rather than the normal negative one. And if you like it for that
reason and change of pace, I don't blame you. I just think it's a problem that this is basically the only type of autistic character that
is ever big in the media. While researching the subject, to make sure my facts were correct, I really only now realized
how big the problem is. But to end this video on a
more or less positive note, if you'd like to learn more about individuals who are on the spectrum and what that entails, I will
be leaving resources below. If you'd like to donate to an organization that
helps autistic people like me and many others,
I will be leaving a link to the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, otherwise known as ASAN, below. As well as links explaining
why Autism Speaks is a horrible organization that should never be
donated to or supported. I could explain in this video but that entire thing is
its own video in of itself and I don't feel like getting
into that territory right now. And if you'd like to
support me or my work, including videos like
this, why not subscribe and hit that bell icon
to get notifications of when I upload. You can also further show your support by pledging to me on Patreon. Every pledge enables me to
keep making content comfortably and more frequently. Thank you so much for your support. And I will see you all in the next video. Have an amazing day guys. (gentle upbeat music)
I definitely see what they're getting at, but a lot of the time it seems like they're grasping at straws with those two.
That being said, if their presence does indeed help those who identify, who am I to judge?
Hey guys! /u/Obversa here! Some of you oldies may remember my post on identifying with Pearl as an autistic fan of the show here, which I made about 3 years ago. I was recommended Toon Ruins' video on "Autism Representation in the Media" today on YouTube, and I wanted to share it here, as I know there are also many autistic fans on r/stevenuniverse who would appreciate her video!
The video briefly covers several different autistic and autistically-coded characters, but focuses the most on Peridot and Pearl from Steven Universe. The videographer is also a passionate fan of the show, and has other great videos on it as well, which I highly recommend checking out!
We all autistic now